Jesus Dies^(A)

³³ At ·noon [^Lthe sixth hour] the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted ·for three hours [^Luntil the ninth hour]. ³⁴ At ·three o’clock [^Lthe ninth hour] Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means [^Cin Aramaic], “My God, my God, why have you ·abandoned [forsaken] me?” [Ps. 22:1]

³⁵ When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.” [^CThe prophet Elijah was associated with the end times (Mal. 4:5) and was also viewed as a helper in time of need.]

³⁶ Someone there ran and got a sponge, filled it with ·vinegar [or sour wine; ^Can inexpensive drink used by soldiers and slaves], tied it to a ·stick [reed], and gave it to Jesus to drink [Ps. 69:21]. He said, “[Leave him be; Wait!] We want to see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried in a loud voice and ·died [breathed his last; ^Lexpired].

³⁸ The curtain [^Cdividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple] in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom [^Crepresenting new access to the presence of God, and perhaps God’s judgment against the Temple leadership]. ³⁹ When the ·army officer [centurion] who was standing in front of the cross saw ·what happened when [or how] Jesus died,^[a] he said, “This man really was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching; among them were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph. (James was her youngest son.) ⁴¹ These women had followed Jesus in Galilee and ·helped [cared for; supported] him. Many other women were also there who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem.

Jesus Dies^(A)

⁴⁵ At ·noon [^Lthe sixth hour] the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted ·for three hours [^Luntil the ninth hour]. ⁴⁶ About ·three o’clock [^Lthe ninth hour] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you ·abandoned [forsaken] me [Ps. 22:1; ^Cthese words are a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic]?”

⁴⁷ Some of the people standing there who heard this said, “He is calling Elijah.” [^CThe prophet Elijah, associated with the end times (Mal. 4:5), was also viewed as a helper in time of need.]

⁴⁸ ·Quickly [At once] one of them ran and got a sponge and filled it with ·vinegar [or sour wine; ^Can inexpensive drink used by soldiers and slaves] and tied it to a ·stick [reed] and gave it to Jesus to drink [Ps. 69:21]. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “·Don’t bother him [Wait; Leave him alone]. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰ But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and ·died [^Lreleased his spirit].

⁵¹ ·Then [^TAnd behold] the curtain in the Temple [^Cdividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple] was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom [^Crepresenting new access to the presence of God, and perhaps God’s judgment against the Temple leadership]. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. ⁵² The graves opened, and many [^Lof the bodies] of ·God’s people [the saints] who had ·died [^Lfallen asleep] were raised from the dead. ⁵³ They came out of the graves after ·Jesus was raised from the dead [^Lhis resurrection] and went into the holy city [^CJerusalem], where they appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the ·army officer [centurion] and ·the soldiers [^Lthose with him] guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened, they were ·very frightened [filled with awe] and said, “He really was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to ·help [provide support for; minister to] him were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. ⁵⁶ Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were ·there [among them].

Jesus Dies

⁴⁴ It was about ·noon [^Lthe sixth hour; ^Chours were counted from dawn, about 6 AM], and the whole land became dark until ·three o’clock in the afternoon [^Lthe ninth hour], ⁴⁵ because the sun did not shine. The curtain in the Temple [^Cdividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple] was torn ·in two [down the middle]. ⁴⁶ Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, ·I give you my life [^Linto your hands I entrust/commit my spirit; Ps. 31:5].” After Jesus said this, he ·died [expired; ^Tbreathed his last].

⁴⁷ When the ·army officer [^Lcenturion] there saw what happened, he ·praised [glorified] God, saying, “Surely this was a ·good [righteous; or innocent] man!”

⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered there to watch saw what happened, they returned home, beating their chests [^Ca sign of sorrow and remorse]. ⁴⁹ But those who ·were close friends of Jesus [^Lknew him], including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched [^Lthese things].

²⁵ [^LNow] Standing near his cross were Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [^CIt is unclear whether Mary the wife of Clopas is the same as Jesus’ mother’s sister or someone else.] ²⁶ When Jesus [^Ltherefore] saw his mother and the ·follower [disciple] he loved [^Cprobably John himself] standing nearby, he said to his mother, “·Dear woman [^LWoman; see 2:4], ·here is [^Tbehold] your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the ·follower [disciple], “·Here is [^TBehold] your mother.” From that time on, the ·follower [disciple] took her to live in his home.

Jesus Dies^(A)

²⁸ After this, Jesus knew that everything had been ·done [finished; completed]. So that the Scripture would ·come true [be fulfilled], he said, “I ·am thirsty [^Tthirst; Ps. 22:15; 69:21].” ²⁹ There was a jar full of ·vinegar [sour wine] there, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a ·branch [stalk] of a hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth. ³⁰ When Jesus ·tasted [^Lreceived] the ·vinegar [sour wine], he said, “It is ·finished [completed; accomplished].” Then he bowed his head and ·died [^Lgave up/yielded his spirit].